If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Re: Closing out the season

9-10 and it's going to be a race for the playoffs (or out if you see it that way).

My only feeling is that if they are hitting the playoffs, try to get JO back out there before then to give them the slightest hope of winning a game or two. I could live with that.

I'd take good Tins too, but I have zero hopes on that one.

Again, look at Hollinger's predictor where it plays out the games. Pacers look to be drafting 10 OR 15. I think 7-8 is off the board already.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The problem for the Pacers, other than not being very good is that they have 3 teams in front of them wanting to make the playoffs. New Jersey, Atlanta and Chicago. The seven
position is not possible almost. Philly is 1 game under .500. So if they play .500 ball the rest of the way and the Pacers win the rest of theirs then they can get number 7. That is not going to happen. At number 8 they have to make up three games on those three teams
in front of them. One team is possible, three is going to be very difficult.

Re: Closing out the season

The problem for the Pacers, other than not being very good is that they have 3 teams in front of them wanting to make the playoffs. New Jersey, Atlanta and Chicago. The seven
position is not possible almost. Philly is 1 game under .500. So if they play .500 ball the rest of the way and the Pacers win the rest of theirs then they can get number 7. That is not going to happen. At number 8 they have to make up three games on those three teams
in front of them. One team is possible, three is going to be very difficult.

Re: Closing out the season

I'd say that ATL just hopped into the lead car for the time being with
their 2nd straight road win tonight. Though they do have some tougher
home games left than the other 3 teams do.

Long way to go yet...

As I've said elsewhere, I think Atlanta's got the inside track. Their schedule (and our's, for that matter) is significantly easier than NJ or Chicago's. Add in the fact it'd be a big deal if they made it, as opposed to avoiding embarrasment like the rest of us, and I think they'll do it. As long as we don't screw it up and start playing alot better.

Re: Closing out the season

The problem for the Pacers, other than not being very good is that they have 3 teams in front of them wanting to make the playoffs. New Jersey, Atlanta and Chicago. The seven
position is not possible almost. Philly is 1 game under .500. So if they play .500 ball the rest of the way and the Pacers win the rest of theirs then they can get number 7. That is not going to happen. At number 8 they have to make up three games on those three teams
in front of them. One team is possible, three is going to be very difficult.

So I was saying that they can either push for the 15 pick and a playoff spot OR the 8-10 pick. I don't see them getting worse or better than that. Either one is fine with me, at least in the sense that I don't see either situation dramatically better or worse than the other.

I like some kids in this draft, but outside of 7-8 you will need savvy and luck to get one that dramatically improves the team. I tout Rush (KS) and Love (UCLA) as good picks, but that isn't meant to imply major impact guys. I see them as foundation types, and at 10+ that's all you can expect (if that). And Rush isn't slotting as high as 15 anyway.

I don't think we'll be saying "oh, we really lost out in not getting Augustin, and that's a player I like. Honestly the aspect of Love and Rush I like most of all is the mental game, something the team sorely lacks at times.

This doesn't appear to be the year that the Pacers solve the "need a go-to star" situation.

Re: Closing out the season

4-1 thus far on my predictions. I'm surprised we beat Charlotte as their talent level is clearly superior to ours. Not to mention their core players have just begun to tap into their full potential as opposed to ours, who asides from Danny and maybe Mike, are clearly on the downside of their career.

Re: Closing out the season

4-1 thus far on my predictions. I'm surprised we beat Charlotte as their talent level is clearly superior to ours. Not to mention their core players have just begun to tap into their full potential as opposed to ours, who asides from Danny and maybe Mike, are clearly on the downside of their career.

Dunleavy skill wise is somewhere near his peak, but he's probably going to be able to play at this level for several more years. Same with Granger.

They'll keep plugging away the way they are for a good while before they hit their "downside", as you put it.

Probably the same with Jason Richardson and Gerald Wallace, might I add.

We're talking just over a 3 year differential. That's fairly substantial, the difference between being a young team and not being a young team.

Charlotte's oldest "key" player is J-Rich who just recently turned 27. Everyone else is under 26. The Pacers best player (J.O.) will be 30 by the time next season starts and is already considered washed up by most fans. Two other starters are already over the age of 30. Only two are under the age of 27.

The Bobcats are younger, thus common sense would tell you (i) they have more room to improve individually, which will lead to improvement as a team, and (ii) they have a longer period of time before they start their physical decline. Another benefit Charlotte has is that their key players are all around the same age, meaning they'll be able to grow together and should all peak at around the same time. That's an underrated aspect of building a competitive team. On the other hand, by the time Granger has peaked, J.O. will probably be rolling around in a diamond-encrusted wheel chair, Foster will be in his mid-30's and on the verge of retirement, as will Tinsley, provided he's not in jail.

The Pacers are one of the most poorly constructed teams in the league. I'm a huge Pacer fan, but there's no point in being in denial about it, which I think a lot of fans are. You can't fix a problem until you first address the fact that there is a problem. Luckily it seems that ownership has finally accepted reality and is ready to do something about it.

Re: Closing out the season

I don't think anyone was talking about the Bobcats three years from now, they were talking about right now's Bobcats.

Say what you will, but the records of both teams are similar, and the Pacers are without 2 of the top guys that are supposed to fill into the equation.

Will the Bobcats be a better team in the future? I'd think so, with all their young talent. But of those top seven players Okafur/Morrison/May/Wallace all have a history of injury and they're all pretty young.

Re: Closing out the season

Wow. We've won 4 of our last 6. 13 games to go, and we play everybody who matters ahead of us in the standings. We really could still make the playoffs.

EDIT: How long has it been since we've had a 6-game stretch where we were over .500?

I'd expect us to go 7-6. Probably not enough to get us in and definitely not in convincing fashion if somebody ahead of us falters badly.

I think the Bulls take us tomorrow and I think there's a good chance Atlanta beats us at home even in it's a big game at that point. Hawks aren't playing well but I think they're better than us. Bulls always give us fits due to all the long, large, athletic front liners they can run at us. They'll likely kill us on the boards and get themselves a ton of extra possessions off the offensive glass.

The only way I don't forsee the above road is if what we've seen this week is truly indicative of us coming together. Flip helps and DH has been steady for once. However, our three straight home wins over the sisters of the poor don't inspire me with supreme confidence. Our D still is the pits-see Minnesota's point total despite our W.

My cheering will be governed by my heart as opposed to my head, of course.

Re: Closing out the season

The Bobcats are younger, thus common sense would tell you (i) they have more room to improve individually, which will lead to improvement as a team

It could also mean they haven't had enough time to prove to you that they aren't very good. Emeka, for instance, is borderline inept offensively will never be much better than he is right now...but probably will be more injured. Adam Morrison could be horrible. Sean May might just be a poor man's Clarence Weatherspoon. Given the current young PGs running around in this league, it's not out of the question that Felton will never be among the Top 15 starters.

The Pacers are one of the most poorly constructed teams in the league. I'm a huge Pacer fan, but there's no point in being in denial about it, which I think a lot of fans are. You can't fix a problem until you first address the fact that there is a problem. Luckily it seems that ownership has finally accepted reality and is ready to do something about it.

That's undeniable. We might be the worst constructed team in fact. I mean, the Knicks are bad, but at least they have the uber-billionaires owners that will keep throwing money at the problem until it can someday (theoretically) be solved.

And, look, I'm not tryna pick on the Bobcats kiddies. I actually like both Felton and May. I'm just saying that we have no idea if they'll ever be particularly good. They have Wallace and JRich who are both good-not-great guys who have already reached their ceilings (IMO) that will anchor the roster, but there's really no way to know if any of the other guys will become good enough to ever make them a multi-year playoff squad let alone a squad with ECF aspirations.

So while I've got nothing against spending a few years in the lottery if that's what it takes for an influx of talent, we all just need to realize that, like the Bobcats, getting a few more talented NCAA players into this franchise really gives us nothing but hope. I don't care how much anyone thinks these guys are "sure things." Aside from the Brons, Melos, Durants and Beasleys of the world, there are no sure things.

Of course, hope that we'll draft well and those guys will develop quickly is much better than what we currently have. But hope is only hope. Just ask Chicago.